Among patients with urinary bladder disorder there are a number of potential problems which require the removal of their bladders. In these situations, a urinary diversion, by producing different sorts of reservoirs, is required. So-called wet diversions are those with direct urinary diversion through the ureters, which are implanted into the abdominal wall, or by insertion of a neutralized portion of the intestine, in which the ureters are implanted, and which is for its part implanted into the abdominal wall.
In both cases the urine is collected in a urine bag, which is attached to an orifice.
Alternatively, the ureters are implanted into the rectum or—increasingly in the past few years—into replacement bladders, which are made of neutralized parts of the intestine.
These replacement bladders are either connected to the endogenous urethra, or they are conducted out of the body by creating an appropriate self-preserving occlusion mechanism at the abdominal skin, for example in the navel region.
Typical indicators for a replacement of the endogenous urinary bladder are advanced tumors in the urinary bladder, but there are also malformations, bladder impairments due to inflammation, as well as functional obstructions, such as obstructions by urinating, or development of bladder atrophies among paraplegics.
It is therefore one object of the present invention to create an artificial urinary diversion system, which is adaptable to the different shapes of different persons, and which presents the largest possible filling volume.
It is another object of the present invention to create artificial urinary diversion systems which are adaptable, without previous direct or indirect determination of the potentially available volume for said system such that as effective as possible a determination and utilization during the surgical phase of the volume available in the patient is facilitated.